Chertoff’s Chickadees

The Legal Times reports on the gaggle of disciples of Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff who have infiltrated the highest levels of government. The upper echelons of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are littered with lawyers who worked with Chertoff when he was the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, a partner at Latham & Watkins, counsel to the Senate committee investigating the Clintons, or in charge of the DOJ’s Criminal Division.

Here’s a sampling of Chertoff’s chickadees:

Julie Myers, head of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Chertoff’s former Homeland Security chief of staff. (Here’s a Law Blog post on her from earlier this month.)

Alice Fisher, head of the DOJ’s Criminal Division and Chertoff’s former deputy at the DOJ who oversaw the Abramoff investigation. (Here’s Anne Marie Squeo’s WSJ profile of her from January 5.)

Noel Hillman, head of the DOJ’s public integrity section who Chertoff hired as a federal prosecutor when he was New Jersey’s U.S. attorney. (Here’s a NYT profile of Hillman from January 11.)

Philip Perry, general counsel of DHS who worked with Chertoff on the Whitewater investigation and was a partner at Latham & Watkins. Perry has a closer connection to an even higher-up: he’s married to Vice President Cheney’s daughter. (Here’s a Legal Times profile of Perry from last year.)

John Elwood, deputy assistant attorney general at DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, who worked with Chertoff in the DOJ’s criminal division.

Laura Parsky, deputy assistant attorney general overseeing computer crimes and child exploitation and hired by Chertoff at the DOJ.

Michael Garcia, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who worked under Chertoff as head of the DHS immigration and customs bureau, Julie Myers’s current post.

David Nahmias, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, hired by Chertoff at the DOJ. (Here’s his bio from the office’s website.)

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